Saturday, September 12, 2015

Because I simply can't fit all my shelves in and all my books in... This is just a couple shelves of books that I have... But because I don't have the space I have a ton more packed away and in storage so this will have to do. Enjoy.

Feel free to link or share pics of your shelves in the comments below!

(Wicked Years Book 1)

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Gregory Maguire just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature.

Jonah and Vivienne’s erotic bond—living out raw scenarios of captivity and force—began as no-strings sex between strangers who shared the same desires. Now the intimacy between them is turning into love, but it’s a love built on fantasies so extreme that exploring them makes guilt inescapable. But the risks they’re taking are far more dangerous than they’d imagined.

A stalker is terrorizing the city, and one of Jonah’s ex-lovers names him as a potential suspect to the police. Standing by a man under suspicion could cost Vivienne everything. But when Jonah’s stepfather takes advantage of the scandal to seize control of the Marks family fortune, Vivienne is drawn into her lover’s broken family and twisted past. Only then will she learn how dark the truth really is…

My name is Madame X. I’m the best at what I do. And you’d do well to follow my rules… Hired to transform the uncultured, inept sons of the wealthy and powerful into decisive, confident men, Madame X is a master of the art of control. With a single glance she can cut you down to nothing, or make you feel like a king.

But there is only one man who can claim her body—and her soul.

Undone time and again by his exquisite dominance, X craves and fears his desire in equal measure. And while she longs for a different path, X has never known anything or anyone else—until now…

He wasn’t civilized or tame. He had his own code and he lived by it.Monk. Bounty hunter. Vampire slayer. Andre Boroi has spent centuries battling the undead, holding out against the dark with honor. But now, gravely wounded by master vampire Costin Popescu, Andre will be easy to track—his spilled blood marking the killing trail for Popescu and his hungry band of underlings. Andre’s only chance is to disappear into the gray mist of the Carpathians. To wait. To hope.She had a healing touch and a scent that was his lifeblood.In the mountains in search of a precious crystal, geologist Teagan Joanes suddenly finds herself hunted by those she once trusted. Then she comes across the warrior—wounded, wanting and irresistible. Andre has been craving her for an eternity: his lifemate. Her warmth envelops him. Her scent pulsates. And with every beat of her heart, Teagan surrenders to a passion she can’t possibly comprehend.Now they are bound by destiny, but is it enough to keep them safe from a stalking, relentless darkness that threatens to swallow them alive?

My Review: I had a difficult time trying to come up with a way to review Dark Ghost because there were many things I liked about it that I was hoping that Christine would go into detail about later in the book however we never really get into any of the topics, people, places or things that were discussed. Another thing I didn't quite understand is the purposeless interaction between Tea and Andre. I was happy that we got a less vindictive domineering abusive partner out of our male (finally!) But I didn't really buy their relationship because we weren't given any time for it to build up into something I could back up and believe in. Automatically a few pages in it just is and from then on doesn't really go anywhere. Also the switch that now our bad guys are just as bad as our heroes have been in the previous books was surprising but I am relieved that this time its just the bad guys and not our hero (Andre) I was so happy that he isn't raping, abusing or imprisoning our heroine (Tea) in this installment. I was getting so irked by that in the previous books with the others.Andre was a character I could believe in and respect and he was a hero I liked this time around. I also liked Tea even though I felt she was a little gullible and naive and a tad bit simple minded. Although basically nothing happened in this book and it was mostly sex filler and not really much else, there's plenty I'm hoping Christine touches on in later installments (Spoiler) especially with the monastery and our group of Carpathians in seclusion. I am happy that Christine backed off the heavy violence against women and embraced a more calm and caring environment for them the way she used to do in the past. I'm very much hoping that she continues to embrace traits of her writing in the past to regain that feeling of security in the rest of her books following this one.